How a bank statement becomes evidence in a political case
A bank statement is one of the most common pieces of evidence in cases related to financing organizations recognized in the Russian Federation as extremist or terrorist. It also appears in many economic and tax offenses. Investigators can obtain it through a standard request to the bank, without the client’s consent.
This article explains how the request itself works, what is included in the statement (including the recipient’s merchant ID), and what the bank is required to store and for how long. This is not an instruction on “bypassing” anything, but a description of a procedure established in banking law and anti-money-laundering law.
If you need to check whether a specific person has been placed on a public wanted list, it is available through Wanted Radar.
In brief
- A bank is required to disclose a statement at the request of an investigator as part of an opened criminal case — this is established in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and in the law on banks.
- The statement contains the date, amount, counterparty (for legal entities), payment purpose, and often the merchant ID of the payment gateway.
- The retention period for primary banking documents is at least 5 years under the requirements of the Federal Law “On Accounting” and the Federal Law “On Countering the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds” (115-FZ).
- Using payment gateway data, investigators can identify the recipient’s domain without the payer’s involvement.
- Requests to banks are made regularly; the bank does not notify the client about such a request.
How investigators obtain a statement
As part of an opened criminal case, the investigator issues a resolution to carry out a seizure or sends a written request to the bank. The basis is Articles 182 and 183 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and the provisions of the federal law “On Banks and Banking Activity” (Article 26 — bank secrecy and cases in which it is disclosed).
What the law says about bank secrecy
Article 26 of the law on banks establishes that certificates on individuals’ accounts are issued by the bank, in particular, to courts, tax authorities, and preliminary investigation bodies in cases under their proceedings, with the consent of the head of the investigative body. The full text of the provision is available in KonsultantPlus (КонсультантПлюс).
What is included in the statement
A standard statement for an individual’s card account includes: operation date, amount, currency, operation type (debit / credit), counterparty, and payment purpose. For acquiring transactions, these fields are supplemented by the merchant ID and the merchant category code (MCC).
What a merchant ID is
Merchant ID is the seller’s identifier in the system of the payment gateway or acquiring bank. Using it, the payment organization can match the transaction to a specific website / seller. On the payer’s side, the merchant ID is usually visible in a detailed statement; on the investigators’ side, it can be requested from the acquirer to clarify the recipient.
What the retention periods are
Under the Federal Law “On Accounting” (Article 29), primary accounting documents are stored for at least 5 years. Law 115-FZ also requires credit institutions to retain documents related to client operations for at least 5 years. Actual periods are often longer — banks store data for longer for their own purposes.
What the bank is and is not required to disclose
| Request | Required to disclose? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Investigator’s resolution as part of a criminal case | Required | Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Article 26 of the law on banks |
| Request from a tax authority | Required in cases established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation | Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Article 86 |
| Court request | Required | Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Commercial Procedure Code of the Russian Federation |
| Request from Rosfinmonitoring | Yes, within the framework of 115-FZ | Federal Law 115-FZ |
| Request from a private individual or debt collectors | Not required without a court decision | Law on bank secrecy |
| Notifying the client about the fact of the request | As a rule, not provided for | Law on banks; depends on the secrecy of the investigation |
How to check right now
Wanted Radar provides search by full name and date of birth in the public wanted-persons registry of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation — this makes it possible to find out whether a specific person appears in the public part of the database. Information about broader case practice in which statements appear as evidence is published by independent media — for example, Mediazona (Медиазона) (the resource is blocked in the Russian Federation; the outlet has been recognized as a foreign agent).
The texts of key legal provisions are on the pravo.gov.ru portal and in KonsultantPlus.
Warning signs vs false alarm
A bank’s request to confirm an operation under 115-FZ is a routine financial monitoring procedure. By itself, it does not mean there is a criminal case. A real sign of attention is an investigator’s resolution, a summons for questioning, or a preventive measure. These documents exist in paper form and can be checked by a lawyer.
Calls “from the bank security service” demanding that you transfer money are fraud. Real bank investigations, and especially investigative actions, are not conducted by phone call.
What to do next
- If you receive a bank request under 115-FZ, respond correctly, on the substance of the operation, in writing.
- If you receive a summons for questioning, come with a retained lawyer.
- Know the rule in Article 26 of the law on banks and the provisions of Article 86 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation — this is part of basic financial literacy.
- Keep copies of your own statements and operation confirmations — they may be useful in any civil or procedural dispute.
- Use Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation as the right not to testify against yourself.
Disclaimer: this material is for information purposes and is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer.
Conclusion
A bank statement is a standard document that the bank is required to disclose only to strictly listed recipients and on strictly listed grounds. These grounds themselves are established in the Criminal Procedure Code, the law on banks, the Tax Code, and 115-FZ. Understanding which fields exist in a statement and who has access to them helps assess the situation realistically — without panic-driven assumptions and without the illusion that “no one will find out.”
To check the public part of the MVD wanted registry, use Wanted Radar search.